I really rate pistol squats. When you don’t have access to a gym or a barbell, they’re my next best alternative. I’ve had surprisingly bad DOMS after sets of these. If you struggle with balance like I do, gently hold onto something for support, but watch your form! https://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/main/popup/name/pistol-squat

I’ve just started working on basket hangs and they’re tough! Ross Edgely rates them as a hard-hitting ab exercise. At the moment, I’m finding the form difficult to master, so I add in leg raises on top to make sure my abs are still getting fully worked.

Without access to a gym, triceps can be hard to work. Bench dips are the answer. Rather than countless reps, I raised my legs by sitting my feet on a second bench, forcing me to go lower into the dip.

Calf burn up: 2 X (alternative right single leg calf raises, two footed calf raises, left single leg calf raises) (no recovery between legs, each set to failure, near full recovery between sets)

COMMENTS

Eccentric (or negative) reps focus on the ‘down’ part of the exercise, which can be just as difficult and gain effective. Dragon flags were listed by Ross Edgely (CEO of TheProteinWorks) as one of the heaviest hitting ab exercises. I’ve started incorporating both of these into my workouts and I’m noticing differences immediately.

The calf burn up is of my own invention. Each set is to failure. The focus should be on the right and left single leg calf raises. The two leg calf raises should be seen as an interval / recovery. Within each set, you go until you can’t do anymore, alternating legs when tired. Take a long rest, then repeat. The lactic build up is pretty bad as time under tension is high and recovery is low. The good thing is, you can do this anywhere!